Nightfall
chapter-547

Ning Que was most grateful to Ye Hongyu for stabilizing Sangsang’s illness for the time being. He knew that the young Divine Priest of Judgment was on her way to capturing and killing Long Qing. Logically speaking, even if they were not friends, he should have shown a degree of worry for her out of gratitude. However, he did not.

Ning Que had absolute confidence in Ye Hongyu. Long Qing was indeed very terrifying. In the battle under the autumn rain, Ning Que would have died had he not been fortunate. However, he still believed that Ye Hongyu was the most terrifying amongst the younger generation of cultivators. Since she had said that she would personally kill Long Qing, then Long Qing would find it hard to escape death.

Looking out of the windows, Ning Que thought about that bloody battle in the autumn rain, the fallen riders outside the rundown temple and Long Qing, who wore a black Taoist robe and his dark quiet figure. Images of other memories popped up moments later, and he recalled a dream he had where he saw three black whirlwinds of smoke and dust in the Wilderness.

The three vortexes were cold and dark as if they were part of the night. Now that he carefully thought about it, they were very similar to the aura that Long Qing and his fallen knights carried.

Ning Que felt even more so that what Long Qing had said that day was true. The fellow who had learned to consume others and had fallen in love with consuming others was the Son of Yama.

He was soothed by the thought, and the fear about rumors surrounding his birth and struggling against the Buddhism Sect lessened. He grew more anxious to reach the Lanke Temple.

However, they would still need to travel slowly no matter how anxious Ning Que was. This was especially so since Sangsang was weak and could not travel without stopping to rest. The speed of the horse carriage did not pick up.

The air in the south was more humid, and even though it was late in autumn, the trees by the sides of the road were still verdant. It was certainly more pleasing to the eye when compared to the bleakness of the north.

There would be the occasional autumn showers and the days grew colder. Sangsang’s body grew colder as well, especially her limbs which felt as if they were made of ice when touched.

Strong alcohol could warm her up, but the effect lasted less and less. As such, Ning Que stuck the failed Fu paper he had left over from two years ago, which had some warming effects on Sangsang. He also made a brazier in the horse carriage. Fire Fu which were extremely precious to cultivators burned in the copper bowl day and night, never extinguishing. They burned an unknown amount of Fu paper on their trip.

They used up the Fire Fus that Ning Que had written in the past and he began to write new ones. However, no matter how powerful Ning Que’s Psyche Power was, it could not withstand his extravagant usage. His face grew paler and paler.

Sangsang did not stop him because she knew that it was meaningless and would not produce any results. If Ning Que were sick, she would do the same thing and Ning Que would not stop her either.

Everyday she would look out at the autumn scenery from the window, or at Ning Que’s face next to the window. She kept a small, serene smile on her face. To her, all the scenery she saw was beautiful, even the autumn’s wind and rain, and the yellow withering leaves. And as long as it was Ning Que’s face she was looking at, she would find it good-looking as well, even if his face was haggard as if he had not slept in days.

Sangsang spent more and more time looking at the scenery and the smile on her face grew sweeter. However, she spoke less and less. Even though she did not speak much over the years, she was even quieter now.

She did not know if the elder at the Lanke Temple could heal her odd sickness, and she did not know if she had a future. She did not know what the future would hold for her if she even had one. This fear that had come from not knowing was the source of her silence.

Ning Que understood how she felt but did not say anything because he knew about Sangsang’s personality.

Sangsang might seem warm, but she was stubborn and had never liked being consoled. That was because she and Ning Que had managed to survive through their utmost efforts. She knew that she could not be weak no matter the situation. The weaker they were, the easier it was for them to die. And if she was consoled and became touched, it would be the beginning of her weakening.

Ning Que did not console her but hugged her to his chest. They looked out at the crisp autumn scenery outside the window in a daze. This was pretty good as well, for they felt that they had traveled back to ten years ago.

Other than hugging Sangsang and staring out at the scenery in the daze, Ning Que only did one thing during the rest of the time, especially while Sangsang was sleeping. He repaired the Primordial Thirteen Arrows.

There were special tools made to fix the arrows in the box. His hands were stable and the talismans on the arrow shafts were carved by him, so the work of fixing the iron arrows was very successful.

Just as he was fixing the last iron arrow, they heard the sounds of people talking from outside the carriage.

Sangsang lifted the curtain and looked out front. There were several strange peaks on the hills in the south. The tops of the peaks were completely flat and looked like black roof tiles.

They have arrived at Wa Mountain.

…

…

In the world of Haotian, the Buddhism Sect had remained silent for a millennium. They had shut their doors in cultivation. Occasionally, there would be someone who would enter the human realm but they were just vassals of Haotian Taoism. They were well known for debates and meditation. With regards to Buddhist rituals and sacrifices to heaven, many high monks had always thought that the Buddhist wheel of life was just another way of expressing Haotian’s will.

This argument led to the Buddhism Sect being surreptitiously classified under the Haotian Taoism system. It was so low-key that many predecessors had written in their notes that the Buddhism Sect was a school of thought and nothing else.

Perhaps due to these reasons, Buddhism was not widespread in the world. Other than the sadhus in the countryside, it was difficult to find a Buddhist temple in South Jin and other Kingdoms.

The only exception was the Yuelun Kingdom. It was close to the Xuankong Temple, the Unknown Place of the Buddhism Sect in the depths of the Wilderness. As such, the Yuelun Kingdom had been heavily influenced by the Buddhism Sect and cultivating in Buddhism was widespread. The country was described as one that had 72 temples in the misty rain.

However, the 72 monasteries in the misty rain could not defeat an old temple renowned from east to west. This temple was the most famous temple in the Yuelun Kingdom, be it the importance it had to the Buddhism sect or its place in the hearts of believers.

This was the Lanke Temple.

The Lanke Temple was on Wa Mountain.

…

…

The history of the Lanke Temple was extremely long. According to historical records, just after the completion of the West-Hill Divine Palace, trees had fallen in the depths of the verdant Wa Mountains, inaccessible to people. Pavilions sprung up and a temple was built.

In the rumors of the cultivation community, the Lanke Temple was a Front Gate left behind by the Xuankong Temple, an Unknown Place. The relation was like that of the West-Hill Divine Palace and the Zhishou Abbey; being as such, it was highly respected. No one dared to violate the foreboding Front Gate without reason.

History and legends had created the unique status of the Lanke Temple. Over the past few years, many tragic, solemn and legendary stories were staged in this ancient temple. And because of this temple, the Yue Laan Hungry Ghost Festival became the most important festival in the world. And popular debates in the last decades had also happened here.

It was not yet time for the actual Yue Laan Hungry Ghost Festival. The Tang diplomatic envoy had yet to arrive, but it was already very lively at the Wa Mountain. Various flags hung from the second floor of homes lining both sides of the bluestone streets. The colors of the flags were dull and were mostly in black and white. but it was unknown whether they were a metaphor for the popular game of chess in the area, or due to the true reason behind the festival, which was a ritual to release souls in the Underworld.

Not even the ordinary monks in the Lanke Temple or the residents of the little town who had lived here for over ten generations would remember the origins of this custom. To those alive in the world, the Yue Laan Hungry Ghost Festival was a simple and pure festival. All they needed to do was to enjoy the atmosphere of these festivities.

Many tourists had already arrived in the little town beneath the Wa Mountains. It was unknown where these tourists came from. They all had a blissful smile on their faces. The adults would smile and greet each other as they enjoyed and toured the legendary millennium-old houses. The children ran and chased each other on the streets. There was a little girl who panted as she chased after her older brother, her little face full of grievances. She suddenly saw hundreds of red fish in the stone pool at the side of the road, and immediately crouched down, looking at the swimming fish with wide eyes. She had forgotten about finding her brother and crying.

A middle-aged man standing beside the stone pool smiled as he watched the girl. He handed her a thin wooden stick, which had a small net the size of a teacup tied to its end. The girl looked at the people who were getting ready to pay and shook her head shyly. She knew that she had to pay to fish, but her mother had said that she was too young to keep money on her and had only given money to her brother. However, her brother had taken the money to buy candy and was nowhere to be found.

The girl suddenly remembered that she was chasing after her brother. She stood up with a startled yelp; just as she was feeling frightened, her brother, who was about seven or eight, squeezed through the crowd. He gave her a satisfied smile and then stuffed two copper coins into her little hands.

The fish in the pool were disturbed. Water splashed wildly onto the moss by the pool, causing them to fall. The occasional disappointed sighs and yelps of surprise made by the siblings could be heard on the streets.

The black horse carriage stopped outside the town and did not enter.

Ning Que chased away the cavalry from the Taoism Temple.

He and Sangsang watched the peaceful and happy town behind the curtains. They looked at the siblings fishing by the pool and smiled, probably having recalled their own childhood when they went to the market.

…

…

The Wa mountain was not an individual mountain, but a series of mountains linked together.

It was still late autumn on these mountain peaks, and faint greenery could be seen on it. They were similarly shaped; their peaks were all as flat as a knife. From afar, they looked like numerous black tiles piled haphazardly by playful children.

The town was bustling, but the Wa Mountain remained quiet. A corner of an ancient temple peaked through the forest. As if affected by Buddhism Dharma, even the last chirps of the southern autumn cicadas did not seem helpless and desperate. Instead, it sounded free and indifferent.

This was the back of the Wa Mountain. One would never be able to enter the main hall of the Lanke Temple if they took this mountain path.

However, the black horse carriage rolled slowly on the mountain path.

Ning Que had brought Sangsang to the Wa Mountain, not for the Lanke Temple, but to find someone at the back of the mountain.

In the quiet mountain behind the Lanke Temple, were Bhadantas of the Buddhism Sect who lived in seclusion.

Ning Que wanted to look for one of them.

It was the Lanke Temple’s elder he had heard of many times.